I love spicy, warm chai in all it’s incarnations (over the years I’ve shared: Chai Chocolate Chip Cookies, Chai-Spiced Oatmeal Tart, Chai Chocolate Green Smoothie, Vanilla Chai Truffle Cakes, Chocolate Chai Truffle Cakes, Banana Chai Buttermilk Waffles, Earl of Chai, and Chai Tea-Infused Cherry & Apricot Compote) and I’m fairly fond of coffee, too – as long as it’s heavily laced with soy milk. So “dirty chai” just had to be a drink I would love. But when I’ve tried it in coffee shops, the drink has been way too sweet or too heavy on the coffee. Making my own seemed like the only option. I like to get this going in my small slow cooker early in the morning so that Kel and I can have a steaming, hot cup mid-morning or after lunch. Tweak the spices to your liking and use your favorite sweetener to get just the right balance.
Vegan Slow Cooker Dirty Chai
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 180
- Total Time: 190
Description
Coffee tastes even better when it’s lightly spiced with orange, anise, cinnamon, and a hint of pepper.
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups non-dairy milk (I prefer soy)
- 1/2 cup freshly-brewed espresso or coffee
- 2 large orange peels
- 2 star anise
- 1 cinnamon stick
- ~4 black or white peppercorns
- ~6 drops vanilla stevia liquid and/or additional preferred sweetener to taste
Instructions
- Put all ingredients in a small 1.5-quart slow cooker and set to low. Cook for 3-4 hours. You can also cook this on high for 2-3 hours.
- Strain out the solids and discard. Serve.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2
- Calories: 128
- Sugar: 2
- Sodium: 129
- Fat: 5
- Saturated Fat: 5
- Unsaturated Fat: 0
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 18
- Protein: 3
- Cholesterol: 0
Wow! What beautiful pictures of one of my favorites things: COFFEE! This looks like a good “weekend” coffee treat!
Thanks, Rachel! Two of my favorite drinks combined: chai and coffee!
What a fabulous idea! I will get the word out about it today <3
Thanks, Kathy! I even made a fancy Pinterest collage today for this post
This sounds like such a tasty way to warm up on these frigid winter days!
You know I love this. Such a beautiful combination of flavors. I adore that photo of the pouring, and that wood coaster!
I think my favorite part of this is the “dirty” in the title :-P. I don’t know why it cracks me up, but it does.
I was psyched when I found those coasters! Such a food blogger…
Looks stunning Annie! I just love that it’s a ‘dirty’ chai! So exciting!!!
Hehe, I know – makes me laugh :-)!
This looks amazing, Annie! I love a dirty chai.
Yum yum! I love action shots (because I’m too lazy to set up a tripod) – some beautiful photos as always, especially the colours.
Also, I’m so happy to read that someone prefers soy milk instead of almond or what not. A small nitpick but it’s one of the most expensive non-dairy drinks over here and drives me crazy to see it in most recipes. :p
Very pretty inviting pictures, dear Anne! Why do you call it dirty? This looks fantastic! I am going to make it directly! It looks perfect for tho time of year! MMM!
The coffee makes it “dirty,” Sophie. This is what they call this drink in coffeeshops/cafes here in the U.S. 🙂
Ahaaaaaa! I made it yesterday & this morning again,….so delicious too!
Thanks again! Xxx
Yaaay!!!
YES. Dirty chai is the BEST. Hard to compete with the chai + coffee combo!
I know it! It took me a while to get up the nerve to try it, but I’m catching up ;-)!
I’m not a Chai girl for some reason but I think if I left out the anise and the pepper I’d be in heaven with this cup of yum! So comforting. It’s a good ‘dirt’ right?
And someday, maybe when you update things over here…I’ll get notified of your new posts…arrrggggg… love ya.
I think chai is one of those thing you either love or – strongly dislike. And anise is certainly one of those flavors.
WordPress! It can make a person crazy! I’ll probably lose ALL of my subscribers when I switch to the new site – talk about argh!! Love ya back.
Love those coasters Annie…I love rustic wood so much! This drink sounds like a drink of heaven to me too….especially with that coffee!!!
Thanks, girl! I LOVE the rustic wood stuff, too. I think I got the coasters at TJ Maxx :-P!
Beautiful photos! And that’s the color I like my coffee to be. The coffee shops make them far too strong for my taste. I couldn’t refuse some good chai spice!
I’m the same – a lightweight coffee drinker 🙂 – heavy on the nut milk, please!!
Pingback: The Best Vegan Comfort Food - Ceara's Kitchen
love this combination! but cook 3-4 hours? too long to wait! XD
Haha! Yes – it does take some patience – – but you could make it on the stovetop, too.
Pingback: You Can Use Your Slow Cooker To Make Warm And Toasty Drinks This Winter – ViralMonths
Pingback: 13 Vegan Slow Cooker Recipes You Need to Make this Winter | Emilie Eats
Hi! When do you add the tea? I don’t see it in the recipe.
There is no tea. It’s the spice and orange peel that give it the chai twist :-).
Oh ok, chai means tea so I just thought there was tea in there somehow. When I’ve ordered dirty chai at coffee shops, I’ve gotten tea, spices, and espresso. With the dairy free milk, it becomes a dirty hippie!
You are absolutely right, of course, about chai – I just found that when I added tea to my recipe the tea flavor wasn’t very noticeable, so I just went w/ the typical spices used when making chai tea. You could add a couple of heaping tablespoons of dried black tea to the slow cooker plus about a 1/2 cup of water, if you like. I hadn’t heard “dirty hippie” before – funny!
Hello! This looks yummy and I can’t wait to try it. Do you think leftovers (if you have any!) would hold up in the fridge?
Definitely! Hope you enjoy it.